Demonstration of a single layer meander line phase retarder at IR

To the authors' knowledge this paper is the first proof of concept of using meander line structures in the infrared domain. We have fabricated a single layer gold meander line on a high resistivity silicon substrate capable of changing the polarization state of the radiation from linear polarization at 43.5 plusmn 0.4 degrees to elliptical polarization with an eccentricity of .398 plusmn .008 and an orientation of 9.1 plusmn 0.5 degrees. This performance shows that the meander line structure can be used in the IR as a planar phase retarder. The phase delay of this single layer meander line was measured to be 48.89 plusmn .01 degrees. Moreover, the degree of polarization is minimally affected suggesting that the change of polarization is due to the meander line phase delay and not driven mainly by scattering